Job Satisfaction of Iranian EFL Teachers: Exploring the Role of Gender, Education Level, Teaching Experience and Service Location

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 University of Ayatollah Ozma Borujerdi, Borujerd City, Iran

2 University of Applied Science and Technology (UAST), Khuzestan, Ahvaz, Iran

3 Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Antalya, Turkey

Abstract

Teacher's job satisfaction (JS) is a crucial factor making objectives realized in an education system. It is deemed that various factors affect teachers' JS. This study aims to investigate if Iranian EFL teachers' JS is affected by gender, education level, teaching experience, and service location factors. For this purpose, using a stratified sampling method, a sample, including 440 female and male EFL teachers were chosen from Tehran, Lorestan, and Markazi Provinces, Iran. To collect the required data, the participants were asked to complete a printed version of a Teachers' Job Satisfaction Survey along with items addressing their demographic information (e.g., gender, education level, teaching experience, and service location). An independent sample t-test and a one-way ANOVA were used to analyze the collected data. Results evidenced no statistically significant difference between the female and male participants regarding their JS. Additionally, the findings documented that the participants with higher education levels had higher job satisfaction. Moreover, the results turned out that the participants with more teaching experiences participants felt less gratified with their jobs. Likewise, the findings disclosed that the participants working in Tehran Province enjoyed higher JS than the teachers working in Lorestan and Markazi Provinces. The study ends with proposing some implications for educational stakeholders. 

Keywords

References

Abdollahpoor, Z., Sadeghi, K., & Ghaderi, F. (2017). Psychological disorder, job satisfaction and teaching effectiveness among Iranian English and Non-English teachers. Teaching English Language, 11(2), 1-24.
Ahmad, R., Ing, H. E., & Bujang, S. (2014). Relationship between selected factors of job satisfaction and job performance among workers at Palm Oil Industries in Sibu-Sarawak, Malaysia. International Review of Management and Business Research, 3(3), 1751-1766.
Akiri, A. A. (2014). Teachers' career satisfaction and students’ academic performance in delta public secondary schools. Journal of Educational and Social Research, 4(1), 267-272.
Altbach, P. G. (2005). Harsh realities: The professoriate faces a new century, In American higher education in the twenty-first century: Social, political, and economic challenges (pp. 25-36). The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Amoli, F. A., & Youran, M. (2014). Delving the relationship between teacher empowerment and job satisfaction among Iranian EFL teachers in Tehran Aviation University. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 4(4), 771-777.
Baroudi, S., Tamim, R., & Hojeij, Z. (2020). A quantitative investigation of intrinsic and extrinsic factors influencing teachers' job satisfaction in Lebanon. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 21(2), 41-58.
Berry, L. M. (1997). Psychology at work. McGraw-Hill.
Burke, R. J. (1995). Management practices, employees' satisfaction and perceptions of quality of service, Psychological Reports, 77, 748-50.
Cetin, M. O. (2006). The relationship between job satisfaction, occupational and organizational commitment of academics. The Journal of American Academy of Business, 8(1), 78-88.
Chamundeswari, S. (2013). Job satisfaction and performance of school teachers. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 3(5), 420-428.
Dinham, S., & Scott, C. (1998). A three-domain model of teacher and school executive satisfaction. Journal of Educational Administration 36(4), 362-78.
Dinham, S., & Scott, C. (2000. Moving into the third, outer domain of teacher satisfaction. Journal of Educational Administration 38(4), 379-96.
Dinham, S., & Scott, C. (2002). The International Teacher 2000 Project: An international study of teacher and school executive satisfaction, motivation and health in Australia, England, USA, Malta and New Zealand. Paper presented to the Challenging Futures Conference, February, in Armidale, Australia.
Eskildsen, J. K., Kristensen, K., & Westland, A. H. (2004). Work motivation and job satisfaction in the Nordic Countries. Employee Relations, 26(2), 122-136.
Evans, M. L. (2016). Principal self-efficacy, teacher perceptions of principal performance, and teacher job satisfaction. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Grand Canyon University: U.S.A.
Gay, L. R., Mills, G. E., & Airasian, P. W. (2009). Educational research: Competencies for analysis and applications, student value edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.
Gupta, C. (2007). Human resource management (8th ed.). Sultan Chand & Sons Educational Publishers.
Harbison, R. W., & Hanushek, E. K. (1992). Educational performance of the poor: Lesson from the oral north east. Oxford University Press.
Huang, S. H., & Yang, L. C. (2018). Teachers' needs in the advancement of communicative language teaching (CLT) in Taiwan. TESOL International Journal, 13(1), 100-117.
Ilham, D. Sh. M. (2009). The role of work motivation on employee performance. Unpublished M.A. Thesis, University of Utara Malaysia, Kedah: Malaysia.
Khokhar, S., Pathan, H., Jhatial, A. A., Taj, S., & Mushtaq, F. (2021). Customization and Validation of a Scale Measuring Second Language Teachers’ Motivation for Professionalization. TESOL International Journal, 139.
Kim, H. G. (2011). Job satisfaction among Korean academics: A critical investigation. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Nottingham.
Kinicki, A., & Kreitner, R. (2003). Organizational behavior: Key concepts, skills and best practices. McGraw-Hill Irwin.
Klecker, B., & Loadman, W. E. (1997). Exploring teacher job satisfaction across years of teaching experience. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Mid-Western Educational Research Association Chicago, Illinois.
Kohli, A., & Deb, T. (2008). Performance management. Oxford University Press.
Latham, A. S. (1998). The advantages of bilingualism. Educational Leadership, 56(3), 79-80.
Locke, E. A. (1976). The nature and cause of job satisfaction. In M. D. Dunnette (Eds), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (pp: 1300-1320). Rand McNally, Chicago.
Luthans, F. (1998). Organizational behavior (8th ed.). Irwin/McGraw- Hill.
Masanja, S. (2013). Effects of workplace conditions on primary school teachers’ job satisfaction in Tanzania. Unpublished Doctoral thesis, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Mathieu, J. E., & Zajac, D. M. (1990). A Review and meta-analysis of the antecedents, correlates and consequences of organizational commitment. Psychological Bulletin, 108, 171-194.
Mbua, F. (2003). Educational Administration: Theory and Practice. Design House.
Menona, M. E., & Athanasoula-Reppa, R. (2011). Job satisfaction among secondary school teachers: The role of gender and experience. School Leadership and Management, 31(5), 435-450.
Mertler, C. A. (2002). Job satisfaction and perception of motivation among middle and high school teachers. American Secondary Education, 31(1), 43-53.
Mowdays, R. T., Porter, L.W.and Steers, R.M. (1982). Employee-organizational linkages: The psychology of commitment, absenteeism and turnover. Academic Press.
Nguyen, N. T., & Ngo, N. D. (2017). Understanding teacher efficacy to teach English for specific purposes. The Asian EFL Journal, 102, 4-16.
Nosraty, S., Khosravipour, B., Monavvarifard, F., Hamidi, F., & Salehi, L., (2015). Analyzing the role of motivation factors in Herzberg’s theory on job satisfaction: Case study-elementary schools in Taleshi City. International Journal of Advanced Biological and Biomedical Research, 3(1), 87-92.
Oviawe, J. I. (2016). Teachers’ effectiveness as correlates of students’ academic achievement in basic technology in Nigeria. International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development, 5(2), 111-119.
Pourbahram, R., & Sadeghi, K. (2020). English as a foreign language teachers' immunity and motivation: Public schools vs. private institutes. Teaching English Language, 14(2), 291-321.
Prasangani, K. S. N. (2019). L2 learners' expected ideal English as a Second Language (ESL) Teacher. AJELP: Asian Journal of English Language and Pedagogy, 7(2), 10-17. https://doi.org/10.37134/ajelp.vol7.2.2.2019
Rabanee, F. K., Yasmin, S., & Al Mamun, A. (2012). Determinants of job Satisfaction: A study on Bangladesh perspective. International Journal Research of Commerce & Science 1(8), 28-36.
Riazi, A. M. (2016). The Routledge encyclopedia of research methods in applied linguistics. Routledge.
Rinantanti, Y., Bin-Tahir, S. Z., & Suriaman, A. (2019). The Impact of EFL Senior High School Teachers’ Performance in Papua, Indonesia toward the Students’ English Learning Achievement. Asian EFL Journal, 23(3.3), 431-447.
Sarani, A., & Rezaee, A. (2017). Job performance of Iranian English teachers: Do teaching experience and gender make a difference? Iranian Journal of English for Academic Purposes 6(2), 13-22.
Soodmand Afshar, H., & Doosti, M. (2016). Investigating the impact of job satisfaction/dissatisfaction on Iranian English teachers’ job performance. Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research, 4(1), 97-115.
Spector, P. (2008). Industrial and organizational psychology: Research and practice (5th ed.). John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY.
Spector, P. E. (1985). Measurement of human service staff satisfaction: Development of the job satisfaction survey. American Journal of Community Psychology, 13(6), 693-713.
Travis, G. (2004). School psychologists job satisfaction: Ten years later. Published Ph.D. Dissertation. Virginia Polytechnic and State University. Blacksburg, Virginia.
Vosough, M. & Nafissi, Z. (2018). An exploration of English language teachers' strategies for disciplining unauthorized behavior in Iranian public and private language schools. The Asian Journal of English Language & Pedagogy, 6(2), 65-84.
Witt, L. A., & Nye, L. G. (1992). Gender and the relationship between perceived fairness of pay or promotion and job satisfaction. Journal of Applied Psychology, 35, 910-17.
Zahoor, Z. (2011). Influence of organizational climate, teaching attitude, and adjustment on job satisfaction of teachers. Unpublished doctoral Dissertation, Department of Psychology, Aligarh Muslim University: India.
Teaching English Language
Volume 15, Issue 2
September 2021
Pages 201-228

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 17 October 2021
  • Revise Date: 01 December 2021
  • Accept Date: 22 December 2021

Share

How to cite

Statistics